VIDEO: James Franco Blames Social Media for Botched Attempt to Solicit 17-Year-Old Girl

After his private conversation with a 17-year-old girl leaked online,James Franco attempted to do some damage control onLive! With Kelly and MichaelFriday.After meeting the teenage tourist at his Broadway showOf Mice and Men,Franco reached out to her on Instagram. He ...

After meeting the teenage tourist at his Broadway show Of Mice and Men, Franco reached out to her on Instagram. He soon suggested they rent a hotel room and insisted, "Don't tell."

"I didn't want to come on the show and... feel awkward, so uh, yeah. I mean, I guess, you know, I'm embarrassed, and I guess I'm just a model of, you know, how social media is tricky," Franco, 35, said on Live!, skipping over the 18-year age difference between him and the girl.

The actor tried to put the blame on the young Scottish student, who was on vacation with her mother, for posting their private messages online. "It's a way people meet each other today. But what I've learned, I guess, just because I'm new to it is like, you don't know who's on the other end," Franco said. "You meet somebody in person and you get a feel for them, but you don't know who you're talking to. So I used bad judgment. I learned my lesson."

Kelly Ripa applauded Franco for discussing the incident, telling the actor, "I think the way you came out here and handled it is perfectly acceptable. It happens to everybody. And I think it happens to movie stars on a much grander scale, like you just said, because everybody knows who you are."

Michael Strahan also shared some praise for Franco, saying, "I always think honesty and not avoiding anything is always the best policy and I appreciate that."